people that have a dog with diabetes or other serious illness read this!!?

okay a few days ago I went to the vet because one of my family member gave my 3 year old chihuahua a peice of chicken, then like 1 day later her tummy started to hurt VERY BAD. so i took her to the vet and the vet said said that she has diabetes and this other serious illness. PLEASE HELP!! the vet said when she comes back to my house she has to be injected with this liquid twice a day. I’m scared that she will die soon!! how do you have faith that everything is going to be alright with your dog? and how do you live with a dog with a serious illness?

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Success Story – Not Canine Stroke. This is Vestibular Disease. Eye Movement

Eye movement in a dog after an episode of Vestibular Disease 4 hour before. As of July 13th 2009. Clover has recovered with some hearing and vision loss. She thinks that she is fine! Here is a video of her 1.5 years later Since it’s been 1 and 1/2 years since her “episode” I’ve posted a video of her I took today on her walk. As you can see she is just fine! www.youtube.com

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Luxated Patella and What This Means to Your Dog and You

Scenario: Let’s say that your child is playing fetch with your one year old Chihuahua when all of a sudden, he cries in pain. You notice that he starts to limp with his lower back leg. Then suddenly, he skips on the other three legs for about 2 to 5 strides and then starts to run normal again as if nothing happened.

Now, let’s say that this incident occurred 3 to 4 more times within the past couple of months, but is becoming more frequent. Should you bring your dog to the vet? The answer is yes, right away! Your dog could be suffering from luxated patella.

Luxated Patella – Is It Necessary To Take Your Dog To The Vet Just For An Occasional Limp?

Luxated patella, also called as “trick knee” or “slipped kneecap”. This painful condition is hereditary in which the kneecap regularly dislocates or moves out of position, especially toward the inside. This condition usually occurs in both legs, but usually to a different extent.

The patella is found in the center of a dog’s knee joint. In a regular knee, the kneecap rests in a rather deep groove where it slides up and down in a usual, controlled way. So, when the groove is too shallow or out of shape, the patella pops out of the groove and shift to the sides, usually toward the inside of the patella. This may cause the leg lock up while the foot is held off the ground, causing your dog to cry out in pain and limp.

Luxated patella is known to occur in smaller breed of dogs, although it can affect medium and larger sized breeds. When it hits, this condition can cause lameness and pain for your dog. In slight cases, the patella slides out of the groove and then slides back without any lasting discomfort or lameness. Your dog will yelp in pain, hold his leg up for a few seconds, and then feel fine again when the knee moves back into place.

Then sometimes, the patella will actually pop out for longer periods or more often, causing injury to the knee capsule. The pain lasts longer and the dog usually appears bowlegged.

Luxated Patella – More Scoop on The Inherited Disorder

As mentioned before, luxated patella is an inherited disorder, meaning that the condition is present at birth. The presence of this problem, however, does not make your dog crippled. So, don’t worry; your dog can still live normal and happy, with the ability to do all of the activities he loves engage in, and for the rest of his life.

Don’t forget, without any treatment or if treated the wrong way can actually cause your dog’s knee to become subject to worse injuries, such as a torn ligament.

A slipped kneecap in an older is the leading cause to diseases of joints and bones. This can actually cause in arthritis in dogs. This is why we recommend that you take care of this problem immediately.

Dog Constipation and the Best Ways To Cure This Dog Illness

Constipation is the most common cause of dyschezia. As you read on, this article will tell you how to fight this disease so your dog can regain its health.

Look for the following symptoms of constipation in your dog:

1. The dog will feel uneasy or uncomfortable when trying to pass feces.

2. The dog may find it difficult to pass feces.

There are several different causes of dog stranguria and at times it may as well happen for no apparent reason. Having said that, one of the most common reasons for constipation causing dyschezia is the lack of fibre in the body. The fibre makes the feces softer and thus it becomes easier to pass through the dog’s body. Other symptoms for this include:

1. Grooming more than normal may result in excess hair which causes itching and scratching and results in harder feces.

2. Rectal diverticulum. This is where the dog pushes against walls of the rectum next to the anus which have become weak and stretched and due to this any pushing against it may cause a bulge to develop and further pushing against this bulge will produce a pocket and the feces will have nowhere to go. The pain will gradually increase as feces are passed because every time this happens the pocket will become larger and the feces will come hard and dry.

3. Painful obstructions which result in scraping in the rectum such as chicken bones may make the dog not want to pass feces due to the pain.

4. Other conditions which include rectal and colitis tumors or growths.

In most cases your vet will lower the mass of the feces by pumping some sort of fluid into the rectum helping to release the blockage. After the enema the vet will probably want to examine the feces in order to find the problem and choose an appropriate prevention method for future cases of dyschezia.

If the problem is hair then conditions such as fleas or mites may be what has caused the disease and thus should be cured first in order to treat the disease. The same is the case when colitis or rectal growths are the problems.

If due to the straining caused by passing of the feces the dog feels weak or is struck by hernia then an operation may be conducted to correct this condition, but as always this is the vets choice and they may choose to use other treatments or try a different method before this stage.